Unscrupulous car accident insurance adjusters will try every trick possible to reduce the value of your claim or deny it altogether. Unfortunately, it is impossible to ignore the insurance adjuster assigned to your claim because it is he who determines how much the company will offer you for your claim. Below are some steps you can take to deal with unscrupulous insurance adjusters.
Understand What You’ll Receive
The key to dealing with unscrupulous insurance adjusters is to understand that the value they ascribe to your claim will be extremely low, probably to the point of being insulting. Even if your claim requested the bare minimum of compensation for your damages, you will most likely receive an offer that will not even cover a portion of your costs. It is important to understand and anticipate this so that you can prepare yourself and not be alarmed when you receive an offer from the insurance company.
Let Him Do His Dirty Work
If you believe the adjuster assigned to your claim is unscrupulous, let him do his work his own way. This means that you should not interfere, attempt to assist or attempt to hinder his efforts in any way; doing so will only frustrate you and, possibly, prevent you from later arguing that the adjuster’s efforts were unscrupulous. If the adjuster asks you a question, tell him that you do not know the answer, even if it is a simple question. If he berates you for not knowing, suggest that he refer to the claim that you filed, as it should contain all pertinent information.
Letting an unscrupulous insurance adjuster do his dirty work by himself will not only make it more difficult for him to accomplish, but will also provide you with the opportunity to later dispute his tactics. For example, if the adjuster ascribes a value to a portion of your claim that is ridiculous, you can question his methods for obtaining the value.
Do Your Own Work
Since you have filed the claim, you know the elements of your claim and those things for which you seek compensation. If the adjuster is unscrupulous, do your own research and determine the values of the elements of your claim so that you may dispute the adjuster’s valuation with your own information. Demonstrating that the adjuster is wrong will indicate to the insurance company that his methods are suspect.
Hire Legal Help
If you have been involved in an auto accident and believe that the adjuster assigned to your claim has bad motivations to value your claim, seek legal assistance. An attorney will guide you through the steps necessary to refute the adjuster’s findings.
